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Garden Advice

How to Choose & Grow Spring Flowering Bulbs

New season's bulbs come into the garden centres from mid August. The earlier you buy them the fresher they are and there will be a greater selection to choose from. Size matters in the bulb world. Top grade bulbs are larger and will produce better blooms. Avoid small shrivelled or mouldy looking bul...
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How to Grow Bulbs for Indoor Flowering

A good autumn project is planting bulbs to flower indoors in time for Christmas. Time is of the essence. Prepared Hyacinths have been specially treated to promote early flowering indoors and should be planted as soon as possible after purchase. There are also several varieties of Narcissi and Tulips...
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Dahlias for High Summer Colour

Dahlias originated in Mexico and were introduced to Europe in the Eighteenth Century by the Spanish. They are sub tropical plants which need abundant water and food to perform their best. The Dahlia may originally have been a foreign import but many British gardeners have taken it to their hearts, n...
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Growing Soft Fruit

Autumn is a good time to think about planting soft fruit. Soft fruit can be broadly divided into cane fruit such as Raspberries and bush fruit such as Gooseberries and Currants. Strawberries are the exception because they are h...
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Getting to Grips with Growing Media

There is a vast array of growing media available to the amateur gardener these days. So here is a basic guide to what's what in the compost world. 

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Choosing, Cultivating and Pruning Roses

Over the centuries roses have had decorative, religious and political significance.  Roses are seen in Ancient Egyptian jewelry dating from the Third Century BC. They became the potent political emblems of the rival factions in the wars of the Roses in the Fifteenth Ce...
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Bedding and Patio Plants

The danger of late frost should be over in our area by about 11 May. This is a liberating feeling in the garden. It means that hanging baskets, pots and borders can be filled with colour by p...
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How to Choose and Grow Herbs

There are many reasons to grow herbs. Some people make their own moth repellent bags from muslin fabric filled with dried Mint, Rue, Rosema...
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Festive House Plants

Now that we are in December that most festive of houseplants, the Poinsettia, is widely available. These days fabulous red poinsettias are complimented by a choice of pink, cream and variegated varieties. A Poinsettia warms up any room with its colourful bracts. The bracts are really modified leaves...
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How to Take Cuttings of Tender Perennials

Ever since the time that mankind stopped hunting and gathering and started farming, generation after generation has enjoyed the satisfaction of propagating plants. August is a good time of year to take cuttings of many tender perennials.  Pelargoniums and tender Geraniums (Zonal Pelargoniu...
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How to Grow Rhododendrons and Azaleas

The Rhododendron family is a very large plant family. It includes both Rhododendrons and Azaleas. In the first part of the 20th Century many species were brought to these shores from China and the Himalayas and plantsmen put a great deal of energy into making plant crosses to create the hy...
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How to Grow Pinks and Carnations

Pinks to me are the country cousins of the more sophisticated florists carnations.  They are not necessarily pink at all and come in a wide range of hues from white to cerise to purple and red. Pinks and Carnations belong to the genus Dianthus. Both have attractive flowers which are us...
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How to Grow Potatoes and Onions

Potatoes are such a versatile vegetable. January and February are the months to decide which varieties. This is so much a question of personal taste that it is difficult to make recommendations. Therefore look for a variety that you enjoy eating and that crops when you want it to.  T...
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How to Grow and Prune Wisteria

Wisteria are large, very beautiful climbers. They have long racemes of flowers in mauve, blue, pink or white and flower in late spring or early summer. Wisteria look particularly special over water and many gardening books feature photographs of them tumbling from bridges. Of course no...
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How to Choose Plants for Autumn Colour and Why Leaves Fall in Autumn

What can better the chilli, caramel and coffee colours of Autumn displayed by leaves determined to go out in a blaze of glory. So what causes leaves to fall in autumn? Basically it is a sort of specific ageing process. Auxin is a plant hormone which is produced in the leaves during the grow...
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Water Conscious Gardening

Being water conservation conscious does not have to mean abandoning gardening. There are a number of things we can do as gardeners to conserve water and still enjoy a beautiful display of flowers and foliage. Applying a mulch to the soil such as bark chips helps keep the soil beneath moist. Watering...
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Successful Container Planting

There can be little more cheerful than the sight or scent of a pot of colourful plants on the doorstep or a luxuriant hanging basket. The secret to successful container growing is choosing the right container, the right compost and the right plants and then remembering to water and feed. The pa...
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Spring Lawn Care

There are millions of lawns in the UK serving many different purposes. Yet the bulk of British lawns just exist, without any attention whatsoever other than a mow now and again. With just a little tender loving care begun in spring the lawn can look really good for the whole of the year. G...
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Autumn Lawn Care

Giving the lawn a little autumn t.l.c. really does make a difference to the way the grass copes with the winter and looks the following spring.  As the temperature drops the grass will grow more slowly and the frequency of mowing can be reduced. The height of the mower blades should also ...
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